1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device capable of Local Area Network (LAN) communication, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method that allows a LAN communication device to receive a service from a Wide Area Network (WAN) by using a communication function of a device capable of accessing the WAN.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the dramatic increase in the use of Consumer Electronics (CE) devices capable of LAN communication, users of CE devices have sought convenient content download methods. CE devices capable of LAN communication may include MP3 players, Portable Multimedia Players (PMPs), game consoles, and netbooks.
In general, a Personal Computer (PC) is used to search the Internet for and download contents that are playable in a CE device. When the CE device and the PC are connected by a dedicated cable, the CE device downloads the contents from the PC. This process enables the CE device to play the contents. Recently, Bluetooth has been used to share contents among devices, replacing the dedicated cable.
However, CE devices still have limitations in directly accessing a WAN. For example, in order to access the WAN, some CE devices use WiFi to connect to the Internet within the coverage of an Access Point (AP). Converged Personal Network Service (CPNS) has been proposed to allow CE devices to access the WAN through a gateway to receive a desired service, such as a content download service.
Regarding the CPNS, a Personal Network (PN) is configured to include a gateway communicating with a WAN and at least one CE device playing services and contents. The CE device accesses a service/content provider of the WAN through the gateway to receive desired services or contents. The gateway in the CPNS is called a PN gateway, and the CE device, connecting to the PN gateway by LAN communication and accessing the WAN through the PN gateway, is called a Personal Network Entity (PNE).
In a CPNS system, a plurality of PNEs connect to a PN gateway and access a CPNS server through the PN gateway. In this manner, the PN gateway configures a PN with the PNEs and operates as a relay between the CPNS server and the PNEs. However, the load of the PN gateway and the CPNS server in processing separate TX/RX messages increases as the number of PNEs connecting to the PN gateway increases.
In order to avoid this increase in load, in the process of configuring a PN through the PN gateway, the PN gateway compiles information about all the PNEs into a PN document, and the CPNS server performs authentication based on the PN document. However, a large load is applied to the PN gateway when the PN gateway parses a PN document at every authentication request of the CPNS server in a registration process, extracts address information of the PNEs, and performs a routing operation.